Exalted with the Argent
by Kirishtu
Summary: Spiderbite returns home for the first time in years. Following behind him is the first - and only - paladin he's ever trusted. Sixth in the Exalted series.


Originally posted on aff 2011-07-02

Darius Blackhammer once more strode the halls of the Aerie, the stronghold of the Wildhammer clan of dwarves. This time, he wasn't here as a quivering, shaking, ready to piss his pants at the slightest sound of plate armor, wounded little boy. This time he was here as a man, full-grown and blooded and tried in the heat of battle. The dwarves he came across lifted their hands in greeting, then went back to their steins or went to tend their gryphons, or whatever other chores there were to be done. Darius, otherwise known as Spiderbite, paused when he reached the outer wall of the Aerie, and stood there, breathing in the smells of the animals and the dwarves and the foresty smell of the Hinterlands.

"Yer mother told me ye were back."

Spider turned to regard his father. Looking at them, you could tell they weren't actually father and son. Spider was human; his father a Wildhammer. The Blackhammer clan had taken Darius in when he reached the Aerie after the genocide at Stratholme, had healed him and had fashioned for him the metal arm he now wore in place of his flesh and bone one. And his name hadn't been 'Blackhammer' then, but 'Siabi'; the name still filled him with a sense of pride when he heard it spoken, but the memories attached to it were still too painful for him to use it as his name once more.

"She told me ye sent fer me." Darius replied coolly, studying his father, Morius Blackhammer. The old dwarf seemed to have gotten older in the years he'd been gone. His orange hair and beard had started to turn grey, and there were lines in his face that hadn't been there before.

"Aye," Morius said. "I've been hearin' of yer adventures about the land. Can't say most o' 'em make me too proud to call ye me son, but those that do make me proud also tell me yer ready."

Surprise crossed Spiderbite's face. "Ready fer what?" He could feel his body tensing in suspicion as it always did. /You're jumping at ghosts,/ came the voice of his friend, Nyrrimath, the only paladin that Spider had grown to trust. /Your instincts will tell you if you need to fear or not. So will your wolf. He knows. Trust him./

/And not you?/ Spider had asked.

Nyrrimath had laughed. /Only you can decide that, Spider./

"Yer a man now, far as the clan is concerned. Word has it ye don't delve into the bottle as much, and ye have a rather odd traveling companion. A paladin, am I right?"

Spider shifted to regard Morius more fully. "Is he here?"

"Yer paladin friend?"

Spider nodded. Morius shook his head. "Nae, no paladin's showed up here."

Spider wasn't sure how he felt about that. Nyrrimath was used to Spider's comings and goings. He was used to Spider's quirks and fears, and stood silently while Spider had an "episode". The first time they had met, Spider had made a drunken fool of himself in Shattrath, getting into a bar fight in which Spider was getting his ass kicked. No one was interfering until a mailed fist had slammed into the face of one of Spider's assailants, sending the man sprawling to the ground.

Spider had been too drunk to recoil from the paladin's touch, and was hardly aware of the man taking care of him throughout the night. The next day, he woke with his wounds healed and his clothes washed, and the paladin standing in the kitchen of the suite, holding a plate of food and a stein of ale and just watching him with eyes the color of the faded sky. He simply had set the food and drink on the table, then stepped away, not saying a word to Spider. The paladin, Nyrrimath, had taken care of Spider during the panic attack that followed, but he hadn't touched Spider. He hadn't attempted to touch the younger man even when they started traveling together, nor did Spider attempt to touch him. Spider's life had been saved by Nyrrimath a dozen times over during their wanderings, and Nyr had asked for nothing. Over the years, Nyrrimath had drawn Spider out of the alcoholic escape, had drawn him out of the shell of smiles and indifference meant to protect himself, had somehow known exactly what Spider needed and when he needed it.

They'd been traveling through the Arathi Highlands when Spider had received the message. Nyr had just studied Spider for a while, waiting for the rogue to tell him what was going on. Spider had said nothing, just smiled and tossed the missive onto their campfire. In the dead of night, Spider had left Nyr sleeping in their camp as he took off for the Hinterlands, and home. Maybe he'd been holding some hope that Nyr would know by instinct where he'd gone, that the paladin would be right behind him. But Nyr probably would think that Spider had run off for some reason or another, and would patiently wait for him to return.

"Ye don' mind this one then?" Morius asked.

"He's different," Spiderbite returned.

Morius studied him carefully from beneath his brow. "Aye, those we care about usually are." Before Spider could make a spluttering reply, Morius continued, "The clan is ready to recognize ye as a true Wildhammer, and I'm proud tae say I think yer ready for it."

Spider looked at the blue lines that marked his father's face, the tattoos that every Wildhammer received when he or she became an adult. Spider would've had his years ago, but he hadn't been ready. "Why now?" he asked.

"Because ye aren't that same scared pup yer mother and I raised. Yer not that drunkard fool that gave his teacher a hard time for six years. Yer not the man ye were, not for a while. Now it's time tae give ye standin' in yer own clan."

Spider didn't know what to say to that. But with his heart beating wildly, Darius Blackhammer stepped up to that line that Nyrrimath had drawn for him, and with trembling arms he wrapped them around Morius. When the dwarf hugged him back, he heard Morius say, "Aye. Ye be ready now, me son."

Spiderbite stood bare from the waist up in the great hall of the Aerie, his eyepatch gone, leaving the empty socket visible for all to see. All around him, family and clan gathered, quiet now that the ceremony had begun. The elders of the Wildhammer clan stood before him, and he could see the sharp needles and pots of ink that contained that familiar blue. In a matter of moments, Spider would lay himself on the stone table before him, and subject himself to the pain of becoming an adult in the eyes of his clan.

Suddenly, the door to the chamber opened. Spider half turned to regard the latecomer, and his heart gave a little flutter as he saw Nyrrimath, sweaty and dirt-stained from what looked like hard riding, slip into the hall. He was dressed in his armor, silver and white and emblazoned with the symbol of the Argent Dawn on the chest plate. His eyes, the color of the faded sky, met Spider's dark eye, and he offered an apologetic smile before he moved out of the doorway. Spider's heart gave another little flutter, and he somehow forced himself to turn back around, to focus on that stone table, those needles, the ink, and the elders.

The stone was cold against his back when he settled down. He concentrated on the fact that Nyrrimath was here, unbidden, without having been told where Spider would be found. The paladin had come here, for him. Spider couldn't remember the last time anyone had done something to show support for him. The only thing that came close was when he was still Hulfdan Blackbeard's apprentice, and he'd made his first successful kill on his own. That had been the deciding factor for Hulfdan to send him away to Ravenholdt, and Spider had shown his teacher how much he trusted him in the only way he knew how. And now there was Nyrrimath. Nyrrimath, who never gave up on Spider, whose soft voice kept the rogue awake at night sometimes, listening to some story of the paladin's past as he recounted some tale of valor or another, who sat quietly listening when Spider needed to yell. Who protected him, then laughed off Spider's attempt to help heal the wound he'd gotten protecting Spider, because Nyrrimath knew Spider couldn't stand to touch him. Who never complained when Spider drew close enough to try and hug him, then darted away at the last minute, or when they had to share a room at an inn and there was only one bed. Nyr had taken the floor, while Spider, in the bed, had remained awake into the hours of dawn, watching the paladin's sleeping face. He remembered asking Nyrrimath, "How can ye sleep so soundly? Aren't ye afraid I'll just slit yer throat?"

He remembered Nyrrimath answering, "If you wanted to kill me, you'd have done it already. But taking my life wouldn't ease what you feel inside. It'd only make you feel worse."

"How can ye be so sure?"

"I trust you."

Trust. That's what it came down to. Spider watched the needle descend to his skin, felt its bite as it pushed ink into his flesh, permanently dying it. Nyrrimath trusted Spider, accepted him just the way he was, and didn't try to fix him. He let Spider fix himself. It was Nyrrimath who had brought Spiderbite here, to this very moment.  
The whole process took more than four hours, and when it was over, Darius pushed himself up and stood at the head of the great hall, allowing clan and family to see his new marker that proved his passage into adulthood. His eyes sought out Nyrrimath, and he found the paladin standing still in the back, smiling.

It wasn't until later that Spiderbite was able to go looking for his friend, once the feast had gotten underway and the kegs of ale had been opened. Nyrrimath stood just below the Aerie's outer wall, tending to his horse. He was still dressed in his armor, but he'd removed his charger's saddle and saddle blanket, working a wet rag over the animal's neck and chest to clean away the lather that had been neglected.

"How'd ye know this is where I'd be?" Spider asked when he came within earshot of Nyrrimath.

The paladin looked up from his mount to the rogue approaching him. Spider came within arm's length of Nyrrimath and stopped. Nyr smiled. "I was told."

"By who?"

"The Light."

Spider stared at Nyr for a moment. "Yer shittin' me."

Nyrrimath laughed. It was a clear sound, one Spider found he enjoyed, because it was free of mockery and full of mirth. "No," Nyr said, still smiling. "I'm not shitting you. Two days after you left, my path crossed with two gryphon-riders. They were heading back from Ironforge after delivering a message to Falstad. They told me that young Darius Blackhammer was finally going to be getting his manhood. So, since this young Darius Blackhammer was known to me, I decided I'd show up."

"Yer sayin' ye came because we're friends?" Spider asked after a moment.

"How many times have you stayed by my side when I've been called to fight with my brothers and sisters of the Argent Dawn?"

Spider said nothing. He took a step toward Nyr, then another, and another until he was standing over the paladin, staring into those captivating eyes the color of faded sky. His muscles began to tremble again as he was close enough where all he had to do was lean forward and he could touch his lips to Nyrrimath's. Instead, he lifted his hand and set it against Nyr's cheek. His thumb stroked through dirt and dried sweat, revealing skin tanned by long hours under the sun. Nyrrimath stood absolutely still. Spider knew that Nyrrimath was waiting for something to happen. Spider had never touched him before. He had shied away from any attempt on Nyrrimath's part to touch him, and even when the gentle-hearted paladin tried to heal him with the Light, he'd had to stand at arm's length.

Spider shifted his hand, trailing it down until he could stroke his thumb over Nyr's wind-chapped lips. His heart was beating rapidly; he shifted and slowly, hesitantly, started to lean his mouth closer to Nyrrimath's.

Suddenly, Spider felt as though he were eighteen again. He ended the kiss before it began, but he didn't step back. Nyr just looked at him, then swallowed, cheeks just lightly flushed as if he knew what Spider had been about to do. "Spider, don't tease me like this. Not unless you're sure."

Spider swallowed. Was he sure? He looked at Nyrrimath, with his long dark, white-streaked hair tied back into a tail, his faded sky eyes studying his face and waiting patiently, like he had always waited. Finally, Nyrrimath sighed and stepped back.

"What're ye doin'?" Spider questioned.

"You need to make a choice, Spider. You can't have it both ways. You either take the chance and jump in head first, or you stay on the bridge and let the water go by."

Spider shivered. "What?"

"I'm saying that you need to choose. Kiss me and make it count, make it worth something, decide how you feel about me and take it all the way, or leave it untouched." Nyr gave Spider a small smile. "You know how I feel about you. I love you, without question or doubt. The true question is, do you trust me enough to love me back, and do you trust me enough to build a life with me? Because I'll be your friend and traveling companion for as long as you want me, but I won't give myself the false hope that you seem so inclined to let me foster."

Spider continued to stare at Nyrrimath blankly. The paladin drew in a breath, and sighed. "Fine," Nyrrimath whispered, "I'll paint a bloody picture for you." He stepped forward with sudden speed and grace and grabbed Spider by his chin. Then he kissed him, hard, and Spider almost recoiled on instinct. Nyrrimath seemed to know it and released Spider from his hold, stepping back as quickly as he'd stepped forward. There was an expression on his face that Spider had never seen on the paladin before but he knew the name of it: regret.

"I'm sorry," Nyrrimath said as he moved to retrieve his horse's saddle.

He had it on his mount's back and half cinched before Spiderbite struck and grabbed Nyrrimath's arm. Spider found that his heart wasn't racing now. His will and resolve were perfectly steady. He knew what he wanted; his wolf, that howling voice in the back of his head, let out a piercing cry in challenge, daring anyone to fight him for his mate. Spider wanted to wipe that look of regret off Nyrrimath's face - that kiss was the first bold thing Nyr had done to him, and for Spider, it had put a great many things into perspective for him when coupled with what Nyrrimath had said.

I love you. Three words never spoken to Spider, save for his mother. But Nyrrimath had said them, freely and without hesitation. For years since their first meeting in Shattrath, Nyr had done nothing but help Spider, and then while continuing to help him, hid his feelings. And it had been easy to hide his feelings because Spider had never wanted to be touched, and now that Spider had initiated the contact...

"Ye meant those words." It wasn't a question.

"Every syllable," Nyrrimath said softly. Spider stepped closer to the paladin.

He slid his hand up Nyr's armored arm, until he rested his flesh hand against the man's cheek once again. He reminded himself - twice - that he wasn't eighteen anymore. He was twenty-eight, a full grown man, a Wildhammer. This man before him had helped him to the end of that path where no one else ever had before. This man before him had made countless sacrifices on his behalf and Spider had simply accepted Nyrrimath as a constant companion who could keep him alive. He realized, now, that he couldn't let Nyr walk out of his life, where before he could - and had - let fear dictate his actions.

"Ye need a bath, and I can have someone look after yer horse." Spider said at last. Nyrrimath studied him, but Spider bulled ahead. "And ye an' me, we need tae have a talk."

Nyrrimath looked incredulous. But Spider didn't give him a chance to argue. The younger man was pulling him up to the Aerie and stopping only long enough to ask a young dwarf to look after Nyrrimath's horse. Spider refused to let go of Nyr's wrist as they walked through the Aerie, bringing him to the Blackhammer's residence. Spiderbite pulled Nyr inside and all but hauled him to the bathroom, relying on his worgen strength to keep Nyrrimath with him.

When Spider closed the door behind them, he turned to Nyrrimath and studied the man's face. "Yer the one who painted me the picture. Armor, off. Now."

"You sure are bossy," Nyrrimath whispered, but he began to unfasten the buckles and straps to remove the plate armor covering his body.

"I'm takin' control fer once." Spiderbite said as he watched each piece of armor come off Nyr's body.

Finally, the paladin wore nothing but his linen shirt and leather pants, staring at the rogue for a long moment. "Those too," Spider said, his lips twisting into a pleased smirk.

Nyrrimath hesitated only for a second, then began to remove his clothing while Spider moved to the in-ground tub and began to fill it with hot water. When Spider turned around to face Nyrrimath, he almost felt his jaw drop, stunned at the sight of the man before him. Nyrrimath was eight years older than Spiderbite, and the hard life of an Argent Dawn paladin had taken its toll on him. His skin was browned from the sun, scarred from countless battles. His muscles were hard and corded, every line in his stomach defined. His hair was dark, streaked with silver and it fell over his shoulders when it was loose from its tail. Spider's gaze finally trailed lower, to Nyrrimath's hips.

"How long are you going to stare?" Nyr asked in a tone that said he'd been subjected to such stares before.

It made Spider's wolf snarl in jealousy in the back of his head. He raised his gaze and met the paladin's pale blue eyes with a smirk. "Just another minute. Or would ye prefer my hand tae me eye?"

Nyrrimath shrugged. "Is that a serious offer or are you just making fun of me?"

In answer, Spiderbite stepped forward and took hold of Nyr's biceps. Nyr remained passive, watching. So Spider led him over to the bath and gestured for him to get in. As the paladin did so, Spider removed his own clothing, hesitating only once when unbuttoning his pants, then slid naked into the water with Nyrrimath.

He picked up a washcloth and a bar of soap and took a deep breath. Still, Nyr watched him, but all Spider could think about now was this man before him, the man the wolf inside him wanted for a mate, and the man, Spider confessed to himself, he wanted too. He hadn't really wanted anyone before. Blackbeard didn't count, he told himself, because there'd been no true feelings behind the act, except need and want of the physical contact.

He touched the soapy rag to Nyr's skin and watched the paladin's eyes close as he began to wash the travel dirt and sweat and grime from the paladin's skin. Then he set the rag aside, once he was certain Nyr was clean, and snaked his flesh hand beneath the water to wrap around the flaccid flesh between Nyrrimath's legs. The paladin's hand caught his wrist in a grip that hurt and Spider stared into the pale blue eyes that studied his face. Slowly, Spider used his metal hand to pull Nyr's hand off his wrist, and began to slowly slide his fist up and down Nyrrimath's cock, ghosting his thumb over the swelling tip as blood rushed to the paladin's groin.

"Now yer fightin' me?" Spider purred softy as he pressed a little closer and calmly licked Nyr's throat.

"Wasn't expecting that."

"Ye told me to make it count," Spider pulled back from that interesting little spot behind Nyr's ear that made him squirm and kissed his paladin hard on the mouth. Teeth clacked together as Spider tried to gain access to Nyr's mouth.

"Do you even know how to do this?" Nyr asked, once Spider had given up on the kiss.

"I know." Spider groused.

Nyr gave him a long look, then slid his hands up Spider's side to his shoulders, then to his chin. "Like this." And he kissed Spiderbite.

This kiss wasn't rough or dangerous, no teeth or pain. It wasn't like the kiss he'd clumsily given Blackbeard; it was gentle, undemanding yet unyielding, just like the man leading it. When Spiderbite got the rhythm of the kiss, he took over, stroking Nyr harder until the man was almost whimpering into the kiss, which allowed Spider to gather his courage and slip his tongue inside his lover's mouth. Nyr tasted of cinnamon and the mint tea he liked to drink so much, and it was hot and wet inside his mouth. Their tongues twined and battled for dominance, but Nyr surrendered the lead to Spider. Spider purred and pulled back with a nip to Nyr's lips.

"So," Spider began softly, still stroking Nyr's hardened cock. "How far should we go?"

"However far you want," was the soft, breathless reply.

Spider studied Nyrrimath, then nodded. "Turn around."

"What?"

"Just do it."

Nyrrimath gave him a searching look, but finally obeyed. When his back was finally splayed before Spider, the rogue took a long moment to just breathe. He couldn't help the chuckle as he retrieved the small bottle of scented shampoo. The words of his teacher came back to him - /Never say never, boy. It'll end up happening tae ye./ And here he was, ready to do the same thing that Hulfdan did to him all those years ago. This time, though, Spider knew it would be different. He poured a generous amount of shampoo into his hand and coated his fingers in as much as he could. Then he returned to Nyr and steadied his digits against the small of Nyr's back, hesitating. Nyr waited, and in that moment, Spiderbite knew Nyrrimath was waiting for him to back off, to move away. The rogue steeled himself, took a deep steadying breath against the panic that was starting to build.

He slid his fingers between the paladin's ass cheeks and felt that tight pucker of flesh. He pushed three digits inside in one quick movement, and felt Nyr tense. A moment later, he heard a breath leave the paladin through clenched teeth.

"Too fast," Nyrrimath said after a moment. "Haven't done this in a long time,"

"How long?" Spider asked as he murmured an apology, drawing his fingers out slightly, then pushing them back in, trying to remember what Hulfdan had taught him about this, slowly scissoring his fingers to stretch tight muscle.

"I lost it two years after I joined the Silver Hand."

"To who?" Spider watched the muscles in Nyr's back jump and twitch with each touch of his fingers to a deep place inside of him. He could feel the paladin growing tighter and loosening with each stroke, and felt himself growing harder in response.

"My commander." Nyrrimath replied with just a little shame. "It was a matter of pride with him. I'd shamed him, saved the lives he wanted to sacrifice. So, to shame me, he ordered me to his private tent and the next thing I knew, I was bound, gagged, and he was on top of me."

"Is he still alive?" Spider asked with dangerous venom.

Nyrrimath's laughter surprised him. "I suppose you could say that. After Stratholme was lost and the Lady Proudmoore ordered us to Kalimdor, our contingent came upon the first of the demons. My esteemed commander's horse suddenly shied and threw him. His saddle hadn't been properly cinched, you see."

"Did you...?" Spider asked with a grin, pulling his fingers from Nyr's body and settling the head of his cock against that stretched hole.

Nyr shifted, turning around so they were face to face. Spider didn't know how to react to that until Nyr took his hands and settled them on his thighs. Then Spiderbite understood, and drifted back a little with Nyr soon settled on his lap. After a little more maneuvering, Spider groaned loudly as his cock slid into the heat of Nyrrimath's body. Nyrrimath echoed his groan and crushed their mouths together in a hot, wet kiss, then gave special attention to Spiderbite's tattoos; two blue lines which started at his forehead, then went over his working eye down his neck to his shoulders, over his collarbone and to his flesh and bone shoulder and arm. As Spider began the hard rhythm - and it was only hard because Nyr bit into Spider's earlobe and growled at him when he started off slow - Nyrrimath leaned back to look into Spider's eye and smiled. "What do /you/ think?"

Buried time and time again into Nyrrimath's hot passage, Spiderbite could only howl with laughter. His paladin was dangerous, just like himself. There was no one else in the world - save his first teacher - that Spider would trust to watch his back. Or to get this close to. He nearly jumped when Nyrrimath gave a short, aborted cry. Then he relaxed when Nyr whispered in his ear, "Right there! Please, Spider!"

And so Spider pounded into Nyrrimath right where he wanted it, and he felt the paladin beginning to tighten around him. That feeling of his cock being squeezed by hot flesh beat out the feeling of being fucked, and Spider looked at Nyr's face. It was flushed, his mouth open as he panted and stubbornly tried to muffle his cries, his eyes half-closed but clouded by pleasure anyway.

And then, suddenly, it was over. Nyr was grabbing onto Spider's shoulders as he yelled his name, his tight passage becoming tighter as every muscle squeezed the rogue's aching cock. Between them, Nyr's own cock jumped, but the water scattered the ribbons of white. Spiderbite couldn't help himself; he growled out Nyrrimath's name and filled him with his seed. He restrained himself from biting Nyr, somehow, and thrust up into his paladin twice more before he was fully spent.

By the time the two had extricated themselves from each other, the water had long turned cold. They dried and dressed, but Nyrrimath didn't put on the plate armor. Instead, he carried it, following Spider out of the bathroom and into the Blackhammer residence.

"Are ye goin' tae stay?" Spiderbite asked Nyrrimath once the paladin had set his armor down in Spider's room.

Nyrrimath turned to regard Spiderbite and offered him a small smile. "Would you really let me leave without you?"

Spiderbite considered for a moment. "Nae," he said after a moment.

"Then, nae, Spiderbite." Nyrrimath replied in a horrible dwarven accent and a loving smile, "I'll not be leavin' until yer good an' ready."

Spider quickly crossed the room to Nyrrimath and captured his paladin in a bruising kiss. "Never talk like me people again, Nyr."

Nyr just began to laugh.


End file.
